The Last Sunflower
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Yang felt she didn't deserve her father's kindness. She didn't deserve Ruby's love. That night, she laid down on her dampened pillow believing she'd be better off without them...
1. The Sunlight

**A commission for moonwatcher13! They asked for post-volume 3 Bumblebee and basically let me do whatever I wanted with this story, so I've done it!**

 **I'll be posting this fic on RWBY Tuesdays for the next few weeks until it's finished, then resume Beyond The Stables!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 1. The Sunlight

Yang couldn't remember what it felt like to smile.

She hadn't smiled in days, not since-

Not since _the accident_.

She didn't like to talk about it, didn't like to think about it.

Though, in retrospect, perhaps talking about it might've done her a bit more good than sitting around moping in bed all day long.

She kept justifying her own moodiness, telling herself she _deserved_ to be angry, deserved to be upset and furious and overridden with a dull feeling of utter helplessness.

Even though she didn't talk to Ruby or her father about how she was feeling whenever either of them tiptoed in to see her, Yang often found herself suffocating in the memories when she was alone.

She knew that talking to them rather than the black bird outside her window probably would've helped.

But she just felt she'd sound like she was complaining to them. She felt she'd be a burden on them, more than she already was as an invalid.

Therefore, she chose to suppress it all, swallowing down the sobs for every daylight hour until they forced themselves to burst forth at night.

Every evening, Taiyang would bring her a tray of food which she'd eat in bed. He'd always ask her if she wanted to move back into hers and Ruby's shared room tonight.

But Yang always refused. She didn't want to risk Ruby seeing or hearing her cry so pitifully.

And she knew that if she went back to their bedroom, Ruby would beg to crawl in beside her, to hold her and be held, even if Yang could only ever provide half the embrace she once was able to.

She knew that moving back to their room would make Ruby feel better.

But she feared it would only make herself feel _worse_.

And she was so goddamn selfish. All she cared about was herself. She just kept locking herself away and feeling sorry for herself, day after day, leaving her little sister to fret all alone.

She knew Ruby must've wondered if Yang hated her. Of course she didn't, but with the way she was acting, Yang could guess Ruby might feel that way.

Yang really hated herself in those days.

She was such an idiot. She was acting like a child.

But... didn't she deserve to? For _once_ in her life?

She'd never gotten a childhood of her own. She'd had to grow up quickly to fill in the role of Ruby's mother for her-

 _No..._

Presently, she clenched her fist in her lap and bit her lip.

 _I can't blame Ruby for this. She's more innocent than anyone. What the hell's_ wrong _with me...?_

Or at this point, it might've been easier to differentiate what _wasn't_ wrong with her.

She bit into her lower lip harder, until she tasted blood.

It reminded her of that day, the sharp, rustic tang hitting the roof of her mouth with poignant flavor. She saw Blake again, helpless beneath Adam's sword, writhing and screaming in agony-

She sobbed, shaking her head to chase off the vision, knowing exactly which memory would follow it.

Her right arm always ached whenever she thought about it. About Blake.

She made an effort to calm herself down as best she could, inhaling slowly as she wiped her eyes.

Why was she like this?

The day was beautiful outside her window. Every morning, she woke to golden sunlight bathing her face and hair in warmth, highlighting the energetic shine of the sunflowers at her bedside. Before the accident, she would've hopped out of bed to head outside and enjoy the day with her sister from start to finish.

But now, it made her bitter to even look outside, or at the sunflowers that had been left for her.

She didn't want them. She didn't deserve them.

She didn't deserve her father's kindness.

She didn't deserve Ruby's love.

That night, she laid down on her dampened pillow believing she'd be better off without them...

. . .

. .

. . .

...And the next day, she found out she'd lost something precious to her.

She'd already lost so much – Weiss, Blake, Beacon, her _arm_...

But now...

Now-

Her father rushed into the room that morning, frantic and on the verge of tears. She sat up, rubbing her eyes.

Had she not recognized the crushing distress in his eyes, she might've attempted to send him away.

But she could tell right away that this was something serious.

She'd seen that look in his eyes before, many, many years ago. After her mother had disappeared-

And he asked her the very same questions now.

"Where is she? Have you seen her?"

Yang only stared blankly back at him, wondering if she was imagining things, reliving old memories.

But the pain in her arm, the ache in her chest, and the sting behind her eyes were all too real to ignore.

"Wh-What...? What are you talking about, Dad...?" Her voice was as hollow as she felt as she watch him sway against the wall. His next words were also terribly familiar:

" _She's gone..._ "

Yang stared at him, seeing the same bleakness reflected in his eyes. There was a crumpled piece of paper in his hand, and even from here, Yang could tell it had Ruby's handwriting on it.

No.

This...

This wasn't happening...

Not again...

Not _Ruby_ -

"No..." Her throat started to close up. More tears spilled forth, the first she'd shown to her father in days. "No... Dad, sh-she _can't_..."

He put a palm to his face and mumbled something under his breath.

"I've... I've gotta go look for her. I don't know... when she left, but I've gotta..."

He staggered, then whipped around and hurried off.

Yang longed to chase after him, to help him search for her baby sister.

But she was numb.

So numb...

 _Not again._

First, she'd lost her own mother, then Ruby's, and now...

Now she'd lost her baby sister.

It hurt too much.

It wasn't fair.

It was...

It was all her fault.

 _It's because... I kept pushing her away, isn't it? It's because I... because I refused to see her. Because I didn't tell her "I love you" back..._

She'd done this to herself, snuffed out her own sunlight, and now her father was paying for it as well. She knew _she_ deserved this pain. But _he_ didn't.

And Ruby didn't, either.

Yang was so scared for her. Where was she planning to go? What was she planning to do? What if she got hurt? What if she lived the rest of her days thinking Yang didn't love her, too? Because she hadn't _told_ her-

"Damn it..."

Yang grabbed the tear-soaked sheets on her lap and threw them off. She swung her legs over the edge so swiftly she collapsed before she could fully stand.

"Damn it, damn it, _damn it!_ "

Her fist smashed into her nightstand in her fury, making it shake. The vase of sunflowers trembled from the impact. It toppled and crashed to the floor in front of her, glass shattering as water seeped into the carpet, the yellow petals now crumpled and limp.

Yang shouted another curse and scrambled to her feet, running straight across the wreckage, not caring for the consequential cuts in her bare feet.

She was going to go find her sister.

 _Damn it all, Ruby!_

At the doorway to the room, she came to a halt as she caught sight of something. Even past the blur of her tears, she could tell it was the paper her father had been holding earlier.

Yang dropped to her knees and picked it up, struggling to open it and flatten in out with her hand. She wiped her eyes furiously, not wanting to drip tears onto the last fragile thing Ruby had left them.

It read:

 _"Dear Dad and Yang,_

 _I'm sorry, but there's something I have to do. There are people I need to see and answers I need to find. But don't worry. I won't be going alone. I'll be back someday, I'm just not sure when._

 _Love, Ruby."_

Yang didn't know what to feel.

There was a slight ounce of relief to know Ruby hadn't gone alone, but it wasn't nearly enough to make her feel any better.

She was so worried about her. She felt so goddamn _guilty_.

While nothing in the letter implied that Yang's selfishness and aloofness had been a part of what had driven Ruby away, she knew in her heart it was partially her own fault.

Why?

Her mother, Blake, now Ruby.

Why did everyone close to her always run away?

Why... was she always the one left behind...?

She couldn't find the strength to get up anymore. She just sat there, leaning against the door frame, clutching Ruby's note to her chest, her feet still bleeding from the glass.

Why?

 _Why...?_

"Ru...by..."

She cried for hours.

Until the cuts in her feet healed up and stopped bleeding.

Until the water from the fallen vase had evaporated and seeped into the carpet.

Until the golden rays of warm sunlight had vanished and left her in a cold, lonely twilight.

She could hear a familiar rapping sound against the glass of the window, and knew it was that black bird again.

It wanted to come in. It always had.

Maybe today she'd let it.

She was about to attempt standing again when she heard the downstairs door close, and someone moving about. She could tell from the slow footsteps that it was her father.

And she could tell from the heavy, dejected sighs that he hadn't brought anyone back with him.

She listened as he stopped for a time, likely sitting on the couch and burying his face in his hands to cry.

For an hour, she listened to the distant sounds of his misery, occasionally adding a few whimpers of her own.

And all the while, the insistent tapping of a beak on glass sounded behind her.

She tried to ignore it.

But it was getting to her.

Maybe she should let it in...

Maybe it would help her forget...

But before she could make an effort to stand again, she heard the sounds of her father's footsteps nearing. The bird outside stopped tapping and flitted away.

Taiyang found her there on the floor, clutching Ruby's note, her room in disarray, her feet bloodied and face distraught.

He didn't need to say anything for her to know he hadn't been able to find Ruby.

Neither of them spoke for a long while.

He helped her back to bed, put bandages on her feet, then cleaned up the glass shards on the floor. He then picked up the bushel of sunflowers.

They'd once stood tall and proud, watching over her. But now they were limp and frail.

When he finally did speak, his words were as frail as the petals he held.

"I'll put 'em in a new vase. The sender really wanted you to have them."

Yang had been staring blankly out her window, looking for the bird when she stiffened. She turned towards her father, her voice a quiet rasp.

"What... what do you mean 'the sender'? Didn't... Dad, didn't you put those here for me?"

He paused from where he'd planned to leave the room, then turned back to his eldest daughter.

"Oh yeah." He seemed a little relieved to have another topic to occupy his mind with for the moment. "I didn't tell you, did I? There was just so much going on.

"But yeah, it wasn't me who got those flowers for you, Yang. The first few days after you and Ruby came home, you were both still really weak. You slept for a few days. And during that time... someone left these at your window. Two for each day you were asleep. One in the morning and one at night. They were left on your window sill, so there was no doubt who they were for. I guess there's someone out there who's looking out for you, too."

He smiled a little, perhaps imagining for himself who had been leaving them. But something told him it wasn't whom he thought it was.

And perhaps that was for the best.

"Either way, I'll go get you a new vase for them."

With that, he left her for a while.

Yang sat in silence yet again, absorbed in so many new thoughts now.

She could only think of one person who could have been leaving those flowers for her.

With sudden swiftness, Yang wrestled herself from bed once more, crawling over to the edge until she reached the window. The bird was nowhere to be seen, so she didn't hesitate in opening it.

The air outside was cool and still that night, silent save from the faint chirps of crickets in the distance. Moonlight bathed the ground below, dyeing the bark and leaves of the trees in silver.

Choking back a sob, Yang raised her voice higher than it had gone in weeks and cried out for her.

"Blake! Blake, please! If you're there, then... please come... I... I need you... _I need you_..."

Her voice cracked, then tapered off, the echoes dying away into the night.

She listened and looked for a response, for any kind of sound, any little rustle of leaves or flash of shadows...

But there was nothing. Nothing at all.

She heard the flutter of wings, and a small, dark figure headed her way, blocking out the moon. Yang quickly pulled herself back inside and closed the window before the bird could reach her.

 _No... Not yet... please..._

She wouldn't give in yet. She still needed answers.

With fresh tears in her eyes, she crawled back to her bed, but didn't get beneath the covers.

Her father returned a moment later with the sunflowers in a new vase. Before he could put them down on her nightstand, Yang sniffled and called out to him.

"Dad...?"

Her voice cracked, and he felt his heart doing the same.

"Yeah, hun? What is it?"

He went to her and sat at the edge of her bed, his eyes hopeful. This would be the first time since she'd come home that she'd be asking something of him, like a daughter should.

He'd do anything for her.

She was all he had left.

Yang reached out her arm and hugged him softly.

"Can I... sleep in my room tonight...?"

Taiyang, pulled her in tightly and nodded.

"Sure you can, sweetie. Sure you can."

For a few minutes, he held her, letting her cry into his shoulder like she'd used to so many, many years ago.

Then, he gathered her into his arms and carried her out of the room, down the hallway, and to hers and Ruby's bedroom. He laid her down in her bed, then returned to fetch the vase of sunflowers to place on the table beside her.

Yang couldn't describe this feeling.

It had been years since she'd last lain in her own bed. She was home. It should've _felt_ like home.

But the last time she'd lain here, she'd had two hands to rest across her stomach. And she'd been able to look to her side and see Ruby lying there beside her.

Now those things were gone.

There was still an innate comfort about this room – a familiar scent, a homely feeling. It _was_ home.

But now...

It was only _partially_ home.

Ruby's bed was empty, only occupied by Zwei's whimpering form at the foot of it. Even when her father kissed her forehead, wished her goodnight, and turned off the lights, Yang was trapped in a feeling of false security.

Almost everything about this scene was home.

But there were a few things missing, a few key components whose absence would never allow the puzzle come together.

It was all just fragments now, a blurred, unfinished picture, mostly complete, but with a few gaping holes at the heart of it.

She didn't think it could ever be complete again.

Yang cried herself to sleep again that night, whispering apologies to Ruby, whispering wishes for Weiss' wellbeing, whispering secrets to Blake...

All things she knew they'd never hear.

She closed her eyes, and the last thing she saw that night were those drooping sunflowers and Ruby's vacant bed.

And even from here, she could still hear a faint tapping sound coming from outside the window down the hall.

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 **A/N: I'm still so upset that Yang didn't tell Ruby "I love you" back in the show. I will continue to push that detail in my stories whenever I can ;w;**

 **Next chapter will be from Blake's POV.**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	2. The Shadow

**I'm not too sure about the terrain on Patch, but for whatever reason, I imagined it as a more humble place, less modern and technological.**

 **This chapter shows what took place from Blake's perspective during chapter 1. So we've rewound a bit and Ruby hasn't left yet.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

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Chapter 2. The Shadow

Blake was always running.

Ever since the moment she could stand as a toddler, she'd been practicing how to run, as though subconsciously training herself for years to come.

She always ran.

Because she was a coward. A "scaredy cat", just like all the human kids had taunted her of being.

She'd always resented their jeering tones.

But with each passing year of her life, she only ever seemed to do things that proved them right.

She'd run from her own family, run from the protests, run from Adam, run from her teammates at Beacon...

And now she'd run away from her closest partner and best friend.

Or at least, she'd tried to.

She'd done her best to run, to make them all believe she'd left them behind for good, making sure there'd been plenty of witnesses to see her dash off after the battle.

But the truth was, she wasn't even capable of committing herself to any single decision.

She'd made it look as though she'd run, but in actuality, she hadn't even done that. She'd merely given off the impression she'd run away, used her clones to confuse her friends, tricking them into seeing a reality that wasn't there, manipulating them into seeing what she wanted them to see.

To resort to deceiving her own friends, the people she trusted and had been opening up her heart to, the people who had trusted and opened up to her in turn...

She really was horrible.

But she'd done whatever was best for herself. Just like always.

After fooling them with her clones, she'd hidden her true self in the shadows of Vale, watching, waiting. She'd taken note of which ship Ruby and Yang were taken onto, though she never did end up seeing Weiss again.

With the sisters being all she could cling to, Blake had followed them.

She'd memorized the ship they'd taken, but remained in Vale alone for a time, sneaking into whatever stores were still open after the battle. She'd resorted to her old ways of stealing morsels and bottles of water, taking advantage of the restrooms to redress her wound, then fleeing before anyone could so much as notice her presence.

Then, she'd taken the night ship to Patch, alone and miserable.

It was a 4-hour flight that allowed her to wallow in her own insecurities – every last one of them. Four hours of feeling wretched, loathing herself.

Once they'd landed, she had only a few faint memories to go off of. Ruby had once said their house was near the ocean, because she'd recounted she could often hear the waves on quiet nights.

Presently, Blake searched and searched all throughout the night, keeping to the dark forests along the shoreline. She did her best to recall the photograph of their house Ruby had once shown the team, trying to locate a settlement of similar size and shape.

She peered into every window, searched every porch and yard, searching...

She only paused briefly to rest at a small farm in the wee hours of the morning. A few cows and goats were the first creatures to take note of her existence in days.

She slipped into a shed there, helped herself to a small portion of milk and bread, rested for about an hour, then crept out once more.

On her way out, she noticed the massive flower field.

In the night, they were all painted silver, but glowed like miniature suns. Hundreds of them, looking back at her, guiding her onward. They faced where the sun would soon rise, promising a new tomorrow.

They made her feel safe despite the foreign land she'd found herself in, warm despite the chill of the night, and calm despite all that had transpired.

She took only one for luck's sake, then hurried off again.

And less than one hour later, she found herself at a home she'd never been to, but one she knew very well.

It was yet before dawn, the purple sky just barely twinkling with the last of the stars. Ruby had been right; Blake could hear the rush of the ocean.

She used the nearby trees to climb, balancing herself on the branches with care, distributing her weight evenly as to not cause a commotion.

The first room she peered into on the second floor seemed vacant at first, with one bed clearly empty and untouched. Even in the darkness, she could see that the pillows were a soft yellowish color.

It reminded her of Yang's hair.

Blake felt that her partner should have been lying in that bed, and to find that she wasn't made her stomach twist.

Especially when she noticed that her leader was resting close by.

Blake brought a hand up to her mouth to swallow a small gasp.

She hadn't seen Ruby in so long, it felt.

And now, here she was.

Her once strong and valiant young leader now seemed so fragile and small.

Blake longed to tap the window. She wanted to see her face again. She wanted to hear her voice.

But she was scared.

What if Ruby hated her for running off and leaving Yang? What if she didn't want anything to do with Blake anymore?

Tears rushed up behind her eyes as her mind spiraled downward into a pit of dark thoughts. From the bottom, familiar childish voices taunted her.

 _"Scaredy cat, scaredy cat!"_

Blake vigorously shook her head and jumped down from her perch. She'd seen all she had to from this room. Ruby was safe, and that was enough.

But why wasn't Yang with her?

A hollowness far worse than hunger gaped within her stomach as she darted around the house, looking for the next available window. As soon as she had found it, she located the nearest tree and repeated the process, concealing herself behind a bushel of browning leaves as her golden eyes pierced through the shadows.

Before anything else, she noticed the black bird at the end of the branch, pecking its beak against the glass window. Blake pushed her weight onto the branch to shake it a bit. The bird squawked and jumped around to face her.

Blake felt there was something strange about it. She shook the branch again, and it flapped its wings and took off, calling loudly.

She watched it go for a second, not knowing what to make of it.

But her eyes soon returned to the window and what lie beyond.

There was a single bed there, close to the glass, and a figure rested beneath the blankets.

Blake's heart throbbed painfully at the sight of her.

She felt only a sliver of relief, but nothing more.

Yang looked just as pale and meek as Ruby had, which was even more uncharacteristic of the elder sister.

She'd always been so vibrant, so charismatic - even in her sleep, if that was at all possible.

But now, she just appeared silent, reserved, as though all traces of her past self had been erased to leave behind a shell.

It wasn't right. None of this was right.

Blake wished she could go back to their days at Beacon, when all of them had been together. When they'd throw pillows at each other to wake them up so they wouldn't be late for classes. When they'd say their goodnights and turn the lights off, then proceed to keep whispering and giggling together for another hour afterward.

She wanted to go back to hearing Yang's little snores, listening to the bed above hers shift as her partner rolled around and mumbled incoherent things in her sleep, then wake to see her grinning, upside-down face over the side of her bed, her chin covered in drool and a mess of yellow hair dangling all around her.

But the girl she saw before her now, sleeping so still and silently...

She almost didn't believe it was Yang.

Blake longed to take the bird's previous place and tap on the window, until she woke and could turn those stunning lavender eyes on her.

But if she did, Blake feared what she might see in Yang's gaze.

Hatred? Betrayal? Disgust?

 _"Scaredy cat, scaredy cat!"_

Whimpering, Blake shoved the thoughts away again.

 _No. She wouldn't... She wouldn't..._

But here and now she steeled herself for whatever Yang might do the next time she saw Blake. Whatever she did - be it hit her, yell at her, or anything else - Blake would accept it.

Because _she_ was responsible for what had happened to her partner. _She_ was responsible for putting her in that bed. She deserved whatever Yang would give her.

But for now, just seeing her was enough.

Blake was too frightened to wait until she might wake. If she could help it, she never wanted Yang to see her, not before they were both ready.

With the dawn almost upon them now, Blake didn't know how much time she had left.

So she made quick, light work of crawling to the edge of the branch, just until the point where she felt it could support her. She extracted the sunflower from her clothes and laid it across the outside of the window sill, tucking the end of the stem into a small crevice so the wind wouldn't displace the gift.

With that, Blake jumped down and disappeared into the woods, leaving behind what was most precious to her.

* * *

She found her weary feet taking her back to the little barn once more, the only place she'd stumbled upon since arriving here that seemed secure enough and able to conceal her for a short amount of time.

Naturally, there were people working there now, beginning their morning work. But Blake managed to slip into a deserted shed when no one was looking. It was full of broken tools, old hay, and cobwebs of every shape and size.

She shooed a family of mice away from the dusty hay bails and took the hard sticks as her bed. Should someone find her, she would do what she did best and run.

But for a time she managed to rest, for as long as the daylight lasted.

She woke with the twilight, when the farm workers had all retired. Only then did she slip out of her hiding place and steal through the shadows once more.

She crept into the more modern barn, and once again took a bit of fresh bread, milk, and a bit of cheese from the supply shelves. She made sure just to take a little bit from each portion, so the overall missing amount was unnoticeable.

After that, she needed to quell the burning questions within her chest.

Had Yang woken yet? Had she found the flower?

It wasn't a long journey from the barn, not with Blake's speed.

So after clipping off another sunflower from the patch, she took off once again through the cold forest. She'd already mapped out a path in her mind, and arrived at the little house as quickly as possible.

The first thing she did was look up to Yang's window and see that the sunflower was gone. She scoured the ground, but didn't find any traces to suggest it had fallen.

So she climbed the tree again, chased off the persistent black bird, and peered inside.

Yang hadn't seemed to move at all since her visit this morning. Blake feared she was in a comatose state of sorts, and wondered if their father was truly able to care for both Yang and Ruby by himself.

But the next thing she saw lifted her heart, just a little.

Her sunflower was now inside the room, standing in a vase beside Yang's bed.

Blake didn't know why, but seeing that made her happier than anything had in the past few days.

She lingered in the tree all night, fending off the birds and listening to the breeze that, when it was quiet, would give way to the sounds of the distant shore.

Yang continued to sleep, though at one point she shifted slightly, which caused Blake to tense in preparation to flee. But her partner had merely turned onto her side, exposing what remained of her right arm, and was still once more.

When dawn approached, Blake left her second sunflower on the sill, and ran once again.

* * *

For two more days and nights, she repeated the same process.

Every time she returned to her teammates' house, she found them both still deep in slumber.

But every time, the vase on Yang's bedside became a little fuller, and added a bit of color to the place.

Blake left one flower every morning, and one every night.

She left five in total that ended up in that vase.

On the day she'd picked the sixth and tucked it into her clothes, it was a cold, still morning. Overnight, a small, thin layer of snow had fallen, just a very slight covering that would likely melt by noon.

Blake made her way from the flower patch to her teammates' home, pausing at the base of the tree she so often climbed. The same pesky raven was there at Yang's window, and Blake was preparing to climb up and chase it away.

But the bird seemed oddly lively today, and as soon as she climbed up, Blake understood why.

Yang was no longer lying quietly in bed.

Rather, she was sitting up with her eyes open.

Awake.

Blake's heart swelled at the sight of her finally conscious again after so long without her. A man who was presumably her father was in the room with her, talking to her quietly and offering her many embraces.

But Yang... didn't seem very eager to accept.

Blake couldn't see much from her hiding spot, and with the colder weather settling in, she had fewer leaves to hide behind, so she made sure to keep out of sight.

But in quick turns of her partner's head, Blake saw flashes of her eyes.

Those pretty, once-vibrant lavender eyes were now ghosts of their former selves. They were bleak, emotionless, and dull.

And her lips never smiled, not once. Not even when Blake read the name "Ruby" on the man's lips. Not even hearing her little sister's name cheered her up, and Blake knew that wasn't right.

Nothing felt right anymore.

She was relieved to see Yang awake, but... but if she was only unhappy and upset, then wasn't she better off asleep?

 _No. God, what am I thinking...?_

Blake choked back a sob and turned herself away.

Yang was awake now, and she felt she could safely assume the same was true for Ruby.

That was all she'd wanted to know.

So... now what?

 _Time to run away again...?_

She didn't know where to go from here. Coming to Patch and checking on these two had just been an excuse to run from her other impending problems with Adam and the White Fang.

And now she was running away from Ruby and Yang as well.

She truly was an awful person.

But at least she might sleep well tonight on her bed of dusty old hay just in knowing that at least two of her teammates were safe in their respective homes. She couldn't speak for Weiss, but Blake trusted that her older sister would care for her where their father couldn't.

So Blake jumped down from that tree for what she hoped would be the last time. She kept the sixth sunflower for herself, and headed off back through the snowy forest the way she'd come.

And once again, she left them behind.

And ran.

* * *

 **A/N: The next chapter will continue directly from this point and explore the events of the following day.**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


	3. The Promise

**At last, the chapter where sunlight and shadow come together!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY.**

* * *

Chapter 3. The Promise

That should have been it.

It should have been the last time she went to see Yang.

After that, Blake planned to truly begin redeeming herself in whatever way possible.

Now that she knew Yang was awake and safe at home, Blake wanted to start by getting as far away from her as possible.

Yang didn't need to know anything about her. She probably didn't want to, anyway. She probably didn't care. Not about Blake.

So she'd leave Patch, return to the places outside the kingdoms where she'd grown up. She'd fend for herself, try to catch wind of news of the White Fang and their activities. She'd try to rejoin them, if only for the sake of finding Adam.

And she'd take her revenge, no matter the cost.

She'd do it for Yang.

If she died in the process, then who would even miss her?

Days had passed since she'd seen Yang wake. After one more night in the shed, Blake was prepared to set out, and possibly never return.

She kept that sunflower with her and kissed its petals, wondering if the ones she'd left behind could provide any form of comfort or solace for Yang.

When she left the barn for good, the ground was covered in snow once again. The air was frigid that evening when she departed. She'd gotten into the nocturnal habit by now, sleeping and hiding by day, and being active only at night when the shadows could hide her.

She trekked past the sunflower fields for the last time, and was determined to leave the little island of Patch for good.

And she couldn't explain it, but something nagged at her to go back through that forest just one last time.

 _No. I should head back towards the main city where the airships are. I'll take one and get out of here..._

She turned herself in that direction, away from the sounds and scents of the ocean and the house that sat not far from its melodic sounds.

But every step in that direction felt weighted, felt _wrong_. Her wound had more or less healed by now, but walking this way brought her more and more pain. She tried to ignore it, pushing away the ache in her chest as though she were fending off some tangible enemy.

But it clawed at her, bit into her flesh from the inside, until she had no choice.

She was weak, and so she complied.

She whipped around and ran back through the forest, bound for her partner for the last time.

 _It has to be the last time. It has to be..._

And then she heard the screams.

Not just shrieks of terror like the ones she'd heard during the battle at Beacon. Not shrill, random cries of fear.

No. These were screams she _knew_.

Screams of _her own name_.

Screams from the one voice she knew best in the world.

" _Blake_...!"

She could hear the faint echo of Yang's distraught voice, carrying throughout the entire forest, even though Blake knew she was at least a mile away. Yang was screaming so loudly, so desperately. Calling for _her_ of all people.

Blake almost didn't believe it. In fact, she skidded to a halt in the snow and quieted her labored breathing, just to listen.

 _It... must be the ocean... the wind... My mind's just playing tricks on me again. There's no way she would-_

"Blake, _please!_ "

The forest itself seemed to cry out at her.

No matter how fatigued and hungry she might've been, Blake knew from experience that this voice wasn't just one of the ones in her head.

This was...

This was _real_.

So she ran. Faster than she ever had before in all her life.

She just _ran_.

Like she had when she'd first met Yang in the Emerald Forest, running to protect her from the Ursa's claws.

Like she had when she'd fought alongside her in battle, running to back her up and support her against their enemies.

Like she had when she'd left her there bleeding and unconscious, running to avoid her and the hatred Blake herself had imposed.

She ran faster than she'd ever run before.

The forest was a blur of brown and black shadows dusted by a blanket of cold white.

She ran.

Ran.

 _Ran_...

Until at last she was there once more, at the place she'd told herself she'd never return to.

The same tree stood in its spot, all of its leaves now fallen, her shelter along with it. The black bird remained outside the closed window, tapping, tapping...

Blake had to wonder if she was going crazy after all. Yang clearly wasn't there, and the window wasn't ajar for her to call out from.

 _I'm just... imagining things as an excuse to stay here longer. Because I'm scared of leaving them. Leaving_ her. _I'm scared to go find Adam and face what I've done. I'm scared to do what I have to do, so I just imagined it all..._

She reached into her clothes to clutch the stem of the sunflower she'd brought along. She squeezed it, feeling it shift against the creases of her palm. A bit of liquid oozed from it, coating her hand. She wanted to _snap_ it-

A sudden flurry of wings stopped her. The bird had deserted its perch on the window sill and fluttered off into the night. It distracted Blake long enough to realize something.

The window... _was_ ajar. Only slightly.

As though someone who wasn't strong enough had struggled to close it all the way.

She climbed up the tree with swiftness and skill, unable to hide behind leaves anymore.

But if Yang had truly been calling for her...

If she was truly there and wanted to see her...

Then maybe Blake wouldn't mind being seen.

She leaned against the trunk of the tree, her superior eyes glinting in the darkness, peering towards the glass. And...

The bed inside was vacant.

"What...?"

Blake rasped the word, and realized it had been the first time she'd spoken aloud in days.

 _Where is she?_

If she'd truly been calling for Blake not too long ago, why had she left?

Blake noticed something else as well. The bedside table was also empty. The vase and her sunflowers were missing as well.

Blake's heart started to pound. She felt sick.

 _What's going on...? Where did she go? Did something happen...?_

She waited for a few minutes, but there were no signs of life from within the dark house.

Blake jumped back down and hurried around to the other side of the house, but paused abruptly when passing the front door.

There were footprints in the snow. A lot of them. At least four peoples' worth.

As far as she knew, there were only three people living in this house. When Blake considered their Uncle Qrow, things almost made more sense.

But then she discerned a fifth pair of prints, one larger than the others.

It looked like... four younger people, and one older person. The larger set had left the house and returned. But the four smaller sets had left and didn't come back.

"What the hell is going on...?"

Blake hurried around to the room where she'd seen Ruby sleeping several days before. She climbed the tree there and peered in through the window to find a scene exactly opposite of what she'd found the first time.

Before, she'd seen Ruby lying in one bed, alone.

Now, Yang lay in the other, and Ruby's bed was empty. The vase of sunflowers sat on a small table in between.

And even from this distance, and even though Yang had turned to face away from her, Blake could see how her shoulders were trembling.

She was crying.

Blake didn't know why it hurt so badly to see that. She had done plenty of crying in those nights alone in that rusty old shed. She'd cried until there was nothing left. Bitter, remorseful tears.

But this...

This was so much worse.

This was horrible.

She didn't know what was going on, but the footprints at the doorway and Ruby's absence from the room told enough.

Blake's legs trembled, and her feet were sore.

She was tired of running. She couldn't do it anymore.

Not now. Not like this.

Not when Yang was crying herself to sleep.

Feeling tears of her own already spilling over, Blake hurried to the part of the thickest branch that reached the house. It was just a bit lower than the window's level, and close enough to the trunk that she could lean her weight back against that for support.

She knew Yang had been calling for her. She knew it in her heart.

Yang wanted to see her, too.

So Blake stopped running.

She reached up to the glass and rapped her knuckles against the outside, in a distinct, definite manner.

Unlike the insistent bird, Blake and Yang had a small knock that was all their own. Yang would use it when coming into the dorm room late at night, when Blake was the only one still awake, reading. And Blake would use it to knock on the underside of Yang's bed to wake her in the mornings.

Two fast, one slow. She tapped the familiar pattern once, then recoiled, pressing herself against the trunk of the tree and lifting an arm to her face to bury it as she cried.

Her heart was pounding so hard. It hurt. Everything hurt.

 _I'm scared... I'm scared... What if she hates me...?_

 _"Scaredy cat!"_

Her instincts were telling her to run again.

Running was easy. All she had to do was jump down and disappear into the shadows.

It would be so easy. She could do it...

"But... I don't _want_ to..."

Beneath her bow, her ears flicked at the sound of movement from above. Blake stifled her sobs behind her hand as she looked to the window, her heels raised as she prepared to jump.

But-

But she couldn't.

Not now.

The window clicked, and the sound of the sill being forced up and open filled the silent darkness. She heard the little grunt of effort, a familiar sound in a familiar voice.

Blake swayed and nearly lost her balance as her wide eyes locked on lavender.

Her heart beat in shockwaves, each one more painful than the last. From behind her hand, Blake's lips formed and spilled her name in a croaking, stammering voice.

"Y- _Ya...ng..._ "

. . .

Yang stood there, trembling for more reasons than one.

The chill of the night, and the effort and strain that opening the window had put on her good arm were the least of those reasons.

She... couldn't believe it.

Her prayers had been answered.

Blake was there, staring back at her, wide-eyed and terrified, with tears running down her face. She looked as though she hadn't slept or eaten properly in days. Which was understandable.

Yang had... so many things she wanted – _needed_ – to say to her. She didn't know where to start.

Perhaps her name was a good place.

"Bl..." Her voice got stuck in her throat, thick and heavy. Yang blinked away several fat tears and tried again. "Bl-Blake...? Is it... r-really...?"

Blake still looked petrified, pressed against the tree outside her window like a caged animal, ready to bolt. If she did, Yang didn't know what she would do with herself. She wasn't certain she'd be able to stop her.

Yang coughed into her elbow, hacking up something awful she was forced to swallow back down.

"B-Blake? Blake...?"

She braced her weight on her hand, leaning forward out the window, more tears dripping down. They fell all the way to the snow-covered ground below.

Still, Blake didn't budge. She had clasped both hands over her mouth now and was shaking her head, though her eyes never left Yang's.

"Yang... I-I..." She stopped, breath hitching.

Yang sniffled and clenched her fingers into a fist.

"Blake... you're... you're looking at me like I'm some kind of Grimm. Am I... really that hideous...?" She turned her body sideways to hide the stump of her arm in shame. She heard her partner gasp in horror, then blurt out more loudly than she wanted to.

"Yang, _no!_ " she cried. "O-Of course not, Yang, I just...! I just..."

Yang rounded on her and glared directly into her eyes.

"Then prove it!" she begged. "Blake, please... I..." She reached out with her hand, uncurling her fingers, extending them towards her. "Blake... I need you... _please_..." She bowed her head, weighted by her tears now.

The anguish of losing so much within such a short amount of time was taking its toll on her, and her body had no choice but to succumb to the agony. She felt like she was breaking apart, piece by piece.

If Blake left her now, she knew she'd shatter altogether.

She sobbed softly over her window sill, shoulders heaving violently, hacking coughs into her collar. Her hand was still suspended in the cold night air, quivering uncontrollably. She could feel her arm sinking under the weight of her grief, until it went limp.

But instead of hitting against the windowsill's edge, she felt soft fingers catch hers.

Looking up, her eyes met Blake's again. Earnest tears fell from her partner's golden eyes, her lips trembling, but set in as firm a line as possible.

Her choice was clear.

"Yang..."

Blake lifted her other hand and cover Yang's with both of hers, squeezing.

" _Yang_..."

She just kept saying her name.

Yang cried a little harder, a little louder. She straightened herself up as much as possible, her fingers clutching Blake's in return. With a gentle tug, she coaxed her forward, closer to the window.

Carefully, Yang used her shoulder to push the window up as high as it could go, guiding Blake closer towards the house, keeping her steady. Yang pulled herself back inside, still keeping her grip on Blake's hand.

Blake braced her knee on the edge of the sill, then ducked her head inside. With Yang's help, she crawled in.

No sooner had her boots touched the carpet within did she find herself on her knees, with Yang collapsed before her.

For a while, it was just silence, aside from their overlapping sobs. They could feel each other shaking just as badly as they could feel themselves.

Shoulders, hands, lips. Everything was trembling, shuddering, so much so that it felt the entire house was doing the same.

Blake rested her chin on Yang's good shoulder and tucked her face into her blonde hair, taking in her calming, familiar scent. Yang burrowed into her collar, hiding her face, clinging with her single hand onto Blake's clothes.

But Blake noticed that, even despite all of the overwhelming emotions bombarding the both of them, Yang was making sure to avoid Blake's wound. She felt Yang's hand at the small of her back, gradually moving up to the center and back down again, assuaging a small portion of her pain, physical and emotional. Blake did the same, using both hands to hold her, pressing herself close to Yang's chest.

Minutes felt like eons as they passed, quiet and shaking in that lonesome room.

Blake was only faintly aware of a soft whining sound, and a little bump against her thigh told her Zwei was there as well.

It felt _almost_ like they were back in their dorm room, simply huddling together for comfort after a bad nightmare.

But they were constantly reminded that this was only half of what they'd once had.

Ruby and Weiss weren't here.

Of the two of them, Blake was the one who managed to find her voice first. Sniffling and gasping against Yang's shoulder, she did her best to use it.

"Y-Yang... I'm suh-so... so s-sorry... I- I don't know- ...I don't know what to do. I didn't know what to do... where to go... I thought you'd hate me..."

Yang inhaled shakily, clinging to her partner as much as she could with just her one hand.

"N-No way..." she mumbled. "Blake... _no way_... Wh-Why would you e-even...? Blake, why would you even _think_ that...?"

Blake whimpered, coughing softly.

"B-Because it's... what happened to you... It's my fault... it's all my _fault_ -"

"Blake, stop it..." Yang pleaded. She held to her tighter, in case Blake tried to push her away and run again. "You know that's not true. None of this is your fault... You _know_ that, Blake..."

Yang felt her jolt, then break down all over again, burrowing against her chest. She held her close, covering her as best she could, shielding her from the cold. She cried into Blake's hair, still trying to convince herself all of this was real.

Somewhere along the lines, she heard Blake begin to murmur more apologies.

"I'm sorry... I'm s-so sorry... Yang..."

Yang hushed her gently, whispering as much reassurance as she could muster.

"Hey, it's okay... it's okay, Blake..."

She could tell Blake didn't believe her, but the Faunus girl was too distraught to argue.

So she accepted Yang's words, and opted to believe them. Or at the very least, start trying to.

It felt like hours must have passed, because the next time Blake lifted her head, the moonlight in the room had shifted and now surrounded the both of them. She rubbed her eyes onto her forearm, gasping softly.

She saw Zwei curled up at her side, ears drooping. When she looked up, she remembered why. Ruby's bed was still empty.

Blake struggled past the lump in her throat and the ache in her chest. Feeling Yang's heartbeat against her own served to soothe her, ever so slightly.

"Yang... Where is she? Where's Ruby...?"

She felt Yang stiffen, heard her breath hitch sharply. A jolt shot through her, hard enough for Blake to feel it. She tightened her hold on her partner, clutching her back and caressing her hair softly.

"Yang...?"

The blonde shuddered against her, and Blake could feel teeth grazing her shoulder. Yang bit her partner's clothes just to stifle the scream she could feel building up inside her, trying to breathe evenly.

Blake waited for her, now vigilant, her ears alert and ready to catch even the smallest sound from her partner. What she eventually did hear were two words she'd wished she hadn't.

"She's... _gone_..."

Blake's heart froze. The awful ache from her stomach wound that had started to fade in recent days suddenly returned, stinging like acid.

"Wh... What...?" she rasped. "What do you-?"

"She... She just... _left_..." Yang whispered. "Our dad came in this morning and told me... She left last night. Took a bag of clothes, wrote a note, and just... _left_. J-Just like my mom... just like you..."

Her words hadn't meant to be accusatory, but they struck Blake like a physical blow.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Yang. I was scared you'd... that you didn't want to see me anymore. That you hated me. That you... blamed me... I didn't know what else I _could_ do..."

"You could've _stayed_ , dammit!" Yang shouted. Her voice raised so suddenly, so ferociously, it made Blake break down into tears and apologies all over again.

"S-Sorry... sorry..." Her voice dragged out in whines of pain, then tapered off.

Yang realized what she'd done and fumbled to make it right again.

"No, Blake... I didn't mean it like that... god, I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm makin' you cry again..." Yang sat back and met her eyes for the first time in a while now. She risked letting Blake go only to caress her cheek. "Hey... Blake, c'mon. Look at me. Please... I didn't mean it like that. I just... Ruby left me too, y'know? It's just like... like everyone else..."

She lifted Blake's face up, waiting for the Faunus girl to open her eyes to force out more tears. As soon as she saw that flash of familiar gold, Yang caught and held her gaze.

"But Blake... you... you came back to me. You're the first person... who came back... you came _back_..." She bowed her head onto her partner's shoulder and released a sigh she felt she'd been holding in for seventeen years. "Thank you... Thank you for... coming back to me, Blake... _Thank you_..."

And she meant it. She truly did. She hoped Blake knew that.

Yang pulled her in again, unable to stop herself from moving in to hold a soft kiss to her partner's cheek.

Blake whimpered again, sniffling repeatedly as she lifted a palm to wipe her eyes. She felt that Yang was about to pull away again, but Blake didn't let her. Fervently, she locked both arms around Yang's back and sobbed full force into her shoulder.

For some unexplainable reason, hearing Yang thanking her made the tears flow faster and harder than thinking she'd hate her.

She felt Yang's lips on her cheek again and again, heard her calming whispers despite the fact that she'd just lost her little sister. Yang was trying to forget about Ruby's absence by using Blake's presence.

But of course, she couldn't forget for long.

Eventually, Blake felt her partner's kisses come to an end, and her words of comfort ceased. Yang began shuddering again.

As Blake's tears stopped, Yang's began anew.

The Faunus girl was appalled at herself. What did _she_ have to cry so much about? She hadn't lost her mother, her sister, and a physical part of herself. All she'd lost was a bit of blood and a few nights' worth of sleep.

And she knew for a fact Yang had lost plenty of those things as well.

Blake sucked in a sharp breath in an effort to compose herself. It was her turn to start returning the favor of comfort.

She held her partner with both arms, quietly hushing her in a way that seemed so second nature to her by now. There had been times back at Beacon when she'd calmed Yang after nightmares, and that had been simple enough. But this nightmare was real, and immeasurably more delicate of a matter.

"Yang... tell me what happened. Where is she? Do you know?"

The other girl shook her head miserably.

"No... She just... left a note, but she didn't say where she was going. Our dad went out to look for her. He was searching all day, following her footprints. But he lost the trail. A-And he said there were other prints, too. S-So she must've gone with someone else..."

As Yang described things, Blake envisioned the sets of footprints outside the house, the prints that had left and never returned. She didn't know what more she could do or say by means of reassurance, but she had to try.

"Your dad's right. There are at least three other people with her. And you know she probably arranged this in advance somehow. She went with people she knows. Probably people we know, as well. She's with friends, so you shouldn't worry too much about her. She can take care of herself, and she's got three more sets of eyes to watch her back."

She knew it wasn't nearly as reassuring as having Ruby back here with her right now safe and sound, but dashing a few of Yang's fears for her sister's wellbeing was better than nothing.

Yang seemed to appreciate the effort, at the very least. She sniffled and nodded her head against Blake's chest.

"Yeah... Guess you're right... I just... I wish she would've told me face to face. I wish she would've... _trusted_ me..."

Blake knew she was treading on a very fragile topic right now, but if it might help her partner feel a bit better, she was willing to take the risk.

"Well," she began softly. "If she _had_ told you, would you have let her go? Wouldn't you have told her not to, and then told your father?"

The response was silence, but that told Blake her partner was thinking about her words carefully. She went on.

"Yang, she didn't leave and not tell you about it because she didn't trust you. That's not it at all. She did what she did so that she'd have a chance of getting it done. Of _course_ you wouldn't have let her leave. You're her big sister. But... she's _Ruby_."

She knew that just that explanation alone was enough to remind Yang of everything she already knew. Ruby was a young, pure-hearted girl who would stop at nothing until she'd put an end to every injustice she could possibly stop or prevent. Once she set her mind on something like this, she'd get it done, one way or another.

The way she'd done it this time had been painful for all of them no doubt, but it had been the least hurtful route in a sense as well. She'd merely slipped out in the night. No spoken farewells, no physical struggles to restrain her, no arguments or sobbing. She was just gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it but accept it and trust her.

That was the final point Blake decided to make.

"Of course she trusts you, Yang. And that's why she didn't tell you. Because she trusts you as her big sister, who will always keep her out of harm's way. But this time, she couldn't let you do that. Now, she's asking _you_ for a little bit of trust."

Finished with all she could think to say, Blake resorted to silence once more, caressing Yang's cheeks, hair, and back gingerly.

It was her turn to sit vigil while Yang cried, trying to absorb the unimaginable reality of losing one of the last people she'd ever loved. But she did her best to remind herself that one of those people had come back, and was holding onto her right now, reassuring her that Ruby would come back in time as well.

In a way, Yang felt she deserved this punishment of being left behind. Instead of choosing to tell Ruby she loved her in return, Yang had sent her away, told her she could do whatever she wanted, and decided to wallow in her own sorrows.

So Ruby had simply taken her up on the offer to do as she pleased.

Yang was paying for her own selfishness now, and she'd bear that burden with the hopes that one day Ruby would come home and forgive her.

And when she did, Yang would hold her for hours and apologize, and she'd never let her go again.

But until then, she would just have to wait.

Again, she sighed heavily against Blake, and her eyes began to run dry. Blake held her for as long as she needed to, until Yang could find her voice once again.

"Thanks, Blake... I think I... feel a bit better about all of this..."

The Faunus girl nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I think... I do, too."

They pulled back a little, Blake still keeping her arms around Yang's shoulders while the other rested her hand on Blake's hip. They dipped their faces into their clothes to clear away the last of the tears.

Blake's ears perked suddenly as an idea crossed her mind.

"Hey... Yang?"

Her partner looked up to her with tired, watery eyes.

"Yeah...?"

Blake bit her lip, hesitated... But in the end, she went through with voicing her thoughts.

"What do you think about... about me going after her?" she proposed quietly. "I mean... no offense to your dad or anything, but I've got experience in tracking. I could find her, and whoever she's with. And... I don't have to try and stop her or bring her back, but at least I can... keep an eye on her, you know? I can tail her and make sure she's safe.

"If they encounter any Grimm or something, I can take a few of them down myself, or conveniently warn them of oncoming danger somehow. Things like that. I can follow her until she gets where she wants to be, then maybe help her with that. I'll do whatever I can to ensure she comes back home safely as soon as possible... What do you think...?"

She waited with patience in her eyes and conviction in her heart.

She knew this must've sounded almost ludicrous to Yang. To trail Ruby but not bring her home the second she'd found her? To simply help her from the shadows without revealing herself? Perhaps it was a stupid idea, but she'd wanted to at least offer it.

To her surprise, Yang had fallen silent, and a serious expression came onto her face. She was deeply considering this.

Blake waited, watching as Yang withdrew her hand and brought it to her face, sighing into the inside of her wrist. Blake reached out to rest a hand on her knee, letting her know she could take all the time she needed.

Minutes passed as Yang tried to arrange her feelings in the most logical and least painful way.

At last, she came to her decision. Her back straightened, and two pools of light purple met with gold.

"All right."

Blake's ears flicked.

"Yang? Really?"

She nodded.

"Yes. I know you can find her. And there's no one else I trust more to watch over Ruby. I know I can trust you, Blake. You've shown me that I can, over and over. And I... can't exactly do anything myself, in this condition.

"And I can't leave my dad, too. Not after my mom, Ruby's, and now her. I'm all he's got left now. I've got to stay with him. If I go after her... he'll break down again, and... I'm not sure if he'd ever be able to be put back together."

Her eyes were beseeching now, swirling with a million different conflicting emotions. Her voice wavered and broke thinly.

"So _please_ , Blake... Do what I can't. Please... go find Ruby. Find my baby sister, and keep her safe. Make sure she can come back to us one day. _Please_..."

Yang slumped forward, and Blake readily caught her.

"I will," she vowed. "I will, Yang. I'll find her, and I'll make sure she comes home. _I promise you_."

Her words were weighted with conviction, drawn up from the very bottom of her heart and soul.

This vow, this promise to Yang, was Blake's new reason to live.

She'd forget about Adam – for now. She'd forget about taking her revenge. Right now, she would live only to see Yang reunited with her little sister.

This was her new task, her new purpose in life.

And Blake was eager to set out and begin making her life _worth_ something.

But before that, she needed to linger, just a while longer. After all, she wouldn't be seeing Yang again for a long time - not until Ruby could.

So Blake savored her last few moments with her partner, making them last. She felt Yang's hand come to rest on her side again, palm holding gently to her stomach, over the wrapped wound. Then, she felt it bump into something on the inside of her clothes.

Blake had forgotten all about the sunflower until now, but as Yang sat back, she was holding it in her hand.

Eyes wide and threatening a fresh wave of tears, Yang stared at the petals, yellow catching silver in the moonlight. Blake felt her ears swivel a bit sheepishly beneath her bow.

"Oh. That-"

"Blake..." Yang lifted the flower to her chin and breathed it in. "You... it really was you who left them for me... I _knew_ it was you..."

Blake shifted closer to her, gently pulling her into another embrace.

"Yeah... I couldn't help myself. I followed you guys back here like some crook and hid in the shadows. I just saw you lying there so still. You didn't wake up for days. I hoped that they could help you somehow..."

She, too, took a breath of the flower's scent. "As I was traveling here, I saw them and they reminded me of you. I was planning on taking this one with me, but I don't have any means to care for it. So you should keep it. For me."

Blake cupped the flower Yang was holding, and guided it towards herself. Dipping down, she kissed the center of the flower, then all around its circumference, brushing her lips against every petal.

Yang watched her, and with each blink of her eyes, another tear fell into her lap.

When Blake was finished, she sat up again and locked their gazes together once more.

"I'll find her, I'll keep her safe, and I'll make sure she comes back to you. It's a promise, Yang."

Yang nodded, and this time the tears fell onto the flower.

"Yeah. Thank you, Blake. Thank you..."

She laid the flower down into her lap so she may use her arm to pull her partner close, one last time.

Blake held her back tightly, nuzzling into the side of her neck. She felt Yang's lips whisper a breath onto her ear, then press against her cheek. Blake returned the favor.

Their hearts thumped together, in perfect synch.

Yang knew that even after Blake had gone, she could always feel her there.

By now, the moonlight had shifted out of the room, leaving the pair in darkness once more. But there was a new light kindled within their hearts, one they'd lit together, one they'd keep alive until they could next meet again and reset the spark anew.

The night was drawing to an end, and the sun would soon rise on a new day.

Blake took note of the paleness of the sky outside, lightening ever so slightly with the oncoming dawn. Softly, she bumped her forehead against Yang's and whispered to her.

"I should probably get going."

She placed her hands over the flower in Yang's lap and pushed it a little closer to her, urging her to keep it. Yang nodded, exhaling slowly.

"Yeah. I guess you should... Go find her, Blake. Keep an eye on my baby sister, will ya?"

She offered a smile. It was sad, regretting that she couldn't come along.

But it was also full of faith and trust in her partner. Blake's heart swelled.

"I will. It's a promise, remember?"

She let her hand find Yang's, uncurling her fingers carefully until she could slip her pinkie finger around Yang's.

Their vow was sealed.

When their fingers came away, they embraced one final time, sharing soft, small, hidden kisses against cheeks and foreheads.

At last, Blake pulled away, rousing Zwei in the process. The Faunus girl helped Yang to her feet, the latter holding onto the last sunflower Blake would leave her, with its petals full of warm, loving whispers spoken from familiar lips.

One last hug.

Blake murmured into her ear.

"I'll come back, Yang. I promise."

"I know you will. Thank you, Blake. Good luck."

They parted.

One last time, their gazes met, held, and conveyed things that words never truly could.

And when Yang next blinked, she was alone in the room again, with nothing but a flower and a warm beat in her heart as evidence of Blake's presence tonight.

She'd treasure them for as long as she needed to, until she saw her again.

Because she knew she would.

She returned to her bed with Zwei at her feet, and placed the final sunflower into the vase with the others. The dawn broke just then, casting its first rays of golden light and warmth into her room, catching on the yellow petals to make them glow.

She didn't know how long it would be until her promise with Blake was fulfilled.

But until it was, she would wait, remember, and pray for their safe return to her.

And even when the sun wasn't shining, she'd still see its color and feel its warmth in the flowers and promises left behind.

* * *

 **A/N: That's all for this story. Unfortunately, I'm probably not going to go into Blake tracking Ruby and the others and all of that. I'll leave that to the canon (where Blake won't even be in the picture, most likely).**

 **I've got one more fic on the way dealing with an alternate volume 3 finale, and it's Ruby/Weiss. If you're interested, it's called On My Way To You, so look out for it!**

 **If you like my work, you can support me on P-a-t-r-e-o-n as Kiria Alice!**

 **Please review!**


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